Pairing Osso Buco with Fortissimo

Winter weather calls for this Wine & Food Pairing from Severine (our Winemaker):

Wine – Fortissimo (a Tuscan style blend)

Food – Osso Buco or Braised Veal Shank.

Recipe courtesy of Saveur.

Osso Buco (Braised Veal Shank)

(Serves 6)

Ingredients

6 1½″-thick crosscut veal shanks, tied with kitchen twine
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup flour
2 tbsp. canola oil
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 large onions, minced
2 medium carrots, minced
2 ribs celery, minced
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
5 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 750-ml bottle dry white wine
1 cup veal stock (optional)
8 cloves garlic, minced
Zest of 3 lemons

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 325º. Season veal shanks with salt and pepper. Put flour on a plate and dredge veal in flour, shaking off excess; transfer to a plate. Heat oil in a 6-qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, add veal shanks and cook, flipping once, until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer veal shanks to a plate; cover. Add butter to pot; stir in onions, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring and scraping any browned bits from bottom of pot with a wooden spoon, until soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Tie 3 parsley sprigs and thyme with kitchen twine and add to pot along with bay leaves, veal shanks, wine, and veal stock or 1 cup water. Bring to a simmer, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cover.

2. Transfer pot to oven and cook until veal is nearly falling off the bone, about 1½ hours. Transfer veal shanks to a plate and cover with aluminum foil. Discard herb bundle and bay leaves. Heat pot over medium heat and reduce liquid by half. Transfer veal shanks back to pot, spoon over liquid, and cover to keep warm. Meanwhile, finely chop the remaining parsley leaves and toss in a bowl with the garlic and lemon zest. Sprinkle some of parsley mixture over veal shanks and serve family style from the pot along with the remaining parsley mixture, and a bowl of mashed potatoes, if you like.